Hulu is killing its free tier

The free tier, which has been a big part of Hulu since the
company's inception, has become a "low trafficked product,"
according to THR. That's partially because Hulu has taken
great pains to shuttle people toward its subscription services
(both the ad and "ad-free" tiers).

"As we have continued to enhance that offering with new
originals, exclusive acquisitions, and movies, the free service
became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu
experience or content strategy,"
Hulu VP Ben Smith told THR.

Hulu's free options have mostly consisted of the last five
episodes of broadcast shows, most of which were available on the
network's sites for free anyway.

This move doesn't mean those free Hulu shows will go away.
In fact, Hulu just announced a deal on Monday with Yahoo that
will bring much of this content to a service called Yahoo
View.

"Featuring content from Hulu, this Fall,YahooView will be the best place to watch the
lastfive episodes of ABC, NBC, FOX (8 days after
original broadcast) and other network sitcoms, day-after clips,
and full seasons of anime and Korean drama," Yahoo said in a
press release.
THR notes it will also be available through partners like
Comcast.

So you'll still be able to watch those "last five" episodes
somewhere, it's just that Hulu is making another move to distance
its brand from free content.